British India

British India : Corporate Takeover and Colonization

For about a year or so, I have been reading about Indian history (1600-1850), focusing especially on how the British colonized India during that period. My readings coincided with the 2016 presidential campaign, which I closely followed. British colonization was made possible primarily because of disunity, greed, selfishness, intolerance and general lack of concern for public welfare in India at that time. Unfortunately, I have observed similar conditions in the United States for sometime now, which boiled over during this election cycle. Clearly they do not bode well for the future of the country. For example, Time magazine in naming in the incoming president as the 2016 Person of the Year added the cautionary subtitle: Donald Trump, President of the Divided United States.

In these writings, I shall discuss how a business corporation named East India Company (EIC) that came to trade with India became its ruler over a period of about 250 years (1600-1850). In this discussion, I shall focus on the prevailing political circumstances in India and policies of the EIC that allowed this corporation to first obtain ruling power over a part of the country (Bengal) in 1757 and then gradually (1757-1857) extend this power over the entire country ending in colonization by the British Crown (1858). In this discussion, I shall also comment on the lessons for America from that period in Indian history. In this connection, see a previous post of mine.

Tentatively, here are the topics I will be covering in the months to come:

Topic

Topic 1: Brief introduction to 17th century India when the EIC first arrived

Topic 7: Lessons for America (to be integrated with the above topics, where pertinent)

Srikumaran Melethil

Briefly, I am a pharmaceutical scientist, university professor (retired), and a patent attorney. I have also tutored 4th-11th graders in math. My CV (see link below) will tell you more about me. I created this website mostly for educational and informational purposes (please visit the publication section). Hopefully, you will find these writings useful. And, yes, if somebody can use my “skill sets”, as Liam Neeson of the “Taken” movies’ fame might say, that will be wonderful too! I can’t wait for his next movie! Really.